Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Naming Names

A friend of mine is expecting her third child and so, along with her husband and older children, is working through the name selection process. While I most strongly suggest giving any son the first and middle names Vaclav Havel, I offer here for her further consideration some names recklessly drawn from The Sagas of Icelanders:

First some options for the name of a new baby girl:

Sigrid

Hrafnhild

Thordis Stick

Asgerd

Thorunn

Ingunn

Moeid

Asny

Thorlaug

Vigdis

Melkorka

Then an unfairly disproportionate slate of appellations suitable for a new son:

Thorolf

Harek

Kveldulf

Thorir Long-chin

Ketil Haeng

Olvir Hump

Onund Sjoni (Keen-sighted)

Olaf

Athelstan

Thorgils Boomer

Erik Blood-axe

Skallagrim

Hallvard

Thorgeir

Skuli

Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue

Hrafn the Poet

Hoskuld

Hrolf

Hromund the Lame

Thorbjorn Hunchback

Thord Hobbler

Finn the Squinter

Eyvind the Plagarist

Any of these would be choices sure to fill the older children with enthusiasm. If anyone else reading this has any other unexpected suggestions for her—be they as straightforward as Petunia, Mortimer, or Alphonse or peculiar, meaningful, and drawn from an interesting source—I'm sure she'd appreciate the ideas, so feel free to leave them in the comments.

4 Comments:

"Erik Njorl, son of Frothgar, leaves his home to seek Hangar the Elder at the home of Thorvald Nlodvisson, the son of Gudleif, half brother of Thorgier, the priest of Ljosa water, who took to wife Thurunn, the mother of Thorkel Braggart, the slayer of Cudround the powerful, who knew Howal, son of Geernon, son of Erik from Valdalesc, son of Arval Gristlebeard, son of Harken, who killed Bjortguaard in Sochnadale in Norway over Cudreed, daughter of Thorkel Long, the son of Kettle-Trout, the half son of Harviyoun Half-troll, father of Ingbare the Brave, who with Isenbert of Gottenberg the daughter of Hangbard the Fierce ..."